Q: When I remove my young gelding's bridle after riding, he typically holds onto the bit in his mouth for a few moments and then lets it drop. He is regularly examined by an equine dental technician, who has found nothing wrong. He is ridden in a loose ring snaffle. Is there a reason he does this or is he just being a youngster?
A: If you have your horse regularly checked by an equine dental technician, there should be no reason why the bit dropping from his mouth is causing him pain or discomfort. However, if he has had a bad experience in the past in which the bit falling from his mouth has caused him pain, he may now associate the removal of the bit with this pain and be more inclined to hold onto it.
Its important to bear in mind with a youngster the amount of changes that occur in its mouth at the time we start bitting and breaking. Between the ages of two and three years, the central four baby teeth (front teeth, of which there are two up and two down) will shed, and the adult teeth will erupt. The next incisor teeth along the jaw, the laterals, will erupt between three and four years of age, while the corner incisor adult teeth will come through when the horse is between the ages of four and five. If your horse had a couple of wobbly baby teeth that caught on the bit when it came out of his mouth, it might have caused him discomfort, making him wary of the bridle coming off.
You are correct to allow him to hold onto the bit until he is happy for it to drop from his mouth, rather than rushing him. As time passes and he realises that dropping the bit is not going to hurt, this behaviour will probably cease.
It is also worth checking your horse's canines. Although usually fairly small in young horses, if they are large it is possible that the bit is catching on them as it comes out the mouth, so they may need to be reduced.